Hi, Patrick. In a space constrained scenario, a good track saw can enable you to do some very high quality work, and you can perform many of the tasks that are commonly performed on a table saw. You could definitely build closets, vanities, and a great variety of other comparable projects with a good track saw. The advantages that a table saw can bring are efficiency, repeatability with a single fence setup, and support for a dado blade. If you get a larger shop space someday and decide to add a table saw, you’ll still get plenty of use out of your track saw. Even though I have a large cabinet saw I still use a circular saw and guide for a lot of cuts on sheet goods, mainly because a 4×8 sheet can be unwieldy to handle on a table saw.

As a professional carpenter, furniture maker, and designer/builder, I see a lot of home carpentry projects that are grossly overbuilt and over-engineered. One of the goals of this Instructable is to avoid the unnecessary overbuilding that I frequently see on this site, and that I see every day working in the residential construction industry. Many of the building methods we (in the US) use today are horribly wasteful despite the advances that have been made in materials science and structural engineering, because most people in the residential building industry, from architects and engineers to carpenters, are mired in tradition, doing things a certain way "because that is how it has always been done", rather than consulting the best available science, or even questioning their own assumptions about "the right way to do it". I don't intend to knock tradition, either. Many of the tricks, techniques, and tools that I use daily are definitely "old-school", but seem to have been forgotten.

[…] Technically this is not a DIY video; it goes by very fast and there are no narrated instructions. That is because it was put together to promote a finished product available here dfmmc.com. But if you have experience welding, it is not all that hard to follow along and figure out the steps and write them down. I might get lazy and buy one … but I love making things, so I definitely will be giving it a try. Whether you buy one ready-made or weld your own, I hope you love this rack as much as I do. What an awesome discovery! If you love rustic decorating you must check out our 85 Rustic storage projects and 40 Rustic home decorating ideas. […]
Start with the horizontal base rail at the bottom of the bookcase. Hold the rail against the bottom shelf and mark onto the rail the center of each slot cut into the shelf. Then use the biscuit joiner to cut corresponding slots into the back of the base rail. Apply carpenter's glue to the front edge of the bottom shelf, and the rear of the base rail. Insert No. 20 biscuits into the shelf slots, then press the rail into place [ 7 ]. Use a rubber mallet to tap the rail tight. Wipe away any excess glue with a cloth. Attach the valance that runs across the top of the bookcase the same way. (Note: Its bottom edge aligns flush with the case top.)
I always try to ask my students why they have come to my school. The standard answer is, "I wanted to learn the right way," but frequently the answer is "that I sit in front of a computer all day and don't feel like I do anything at all." Or simply, they are bored with sitting at home every night. These are the people who are really fun to have in class. They have no preconceived notions, no bad habits to break and they usually really appreciate whatever they have made. Many of them go on to make some new friends at the school. Through the years, I have seen many make plans to take another class "if my buddy is going to do it, too." I had shop classes in school which was a little helpful, but covered an assortment of skills. Mechanical drawing, leather craft, woodworking and other items but not in depth on any of these. I learned (and am still learning) by doing and trial and error. I watch a LOT of videos, look at others work (on here) and read a lot of articles but mostly by doing. The biggest skill builder, I have found, is the basic box. From that I learned cutting skills, measuring, fitting and squaring and I expanded from there. I wish I could take some classes and study under a mentor but that is not possible for me. Most important part of woodworking (I have found) is just to have fun with it, and, for me, a great stress relief.
Dan, my work space that is available for power tools is quite small, about 6′ x 20′. It may seem like a lot on the surface, but a long rectangle is a bear to work in. It requires a lot of serpentine action. That said, I don’t have too much room for large footprint tools. I have settled finally on three big tools; a small bench saw, a thickness planer, and a drill press. I had to forgo the jointer, so I use hand tools to make up for it’s absence (as I do with a lot of my hand tool techniques). I have gotten to the point where I can flatten one side and true an edge of a board reasonably quick. I then finish it up with the thickness planer and table saw, giving me a nice flat board. I guess what I am basically saying is, there’s more than one way to skin a cat, and don’t write off hand tools as a quaint way to experience the past. They worked for thousands of years, and still do! Thanks for the blogs, they make for great reading.
A very very interesting woodworking project you can undertake is to make spoons and ladles of all sizes out of wood. These items are really coming back in a big way. I sincerely feel you can attract a lot of attention and sell these items very well. People are beginning to use more wholesome utensils in the kitchens. Wooden spoons and ladles are going to be raging popular products. Getting a lathe will go a long way in making any kind of wood bowls, spoons and ladles. ClickBank is the retailer of products on this site. CLICKBANK® is a registered trademark of Click Sales, Inc., a Delaware corporation located at 917 S. Lusk Street, Suite 200, Boise Idaho, 83706, USA and used by permission. ClickBank's role as retailer does not constitute an endorsement, approval or review of these products or any claim, statement or opinion used in promotion of these products.Cut off a 21-in.-long board for the shelves, rip it in the middle to make two shelves, and cut 45-degree bevels on the two long front edges with a router or table saw. Bevel the ends of the other board, cut dadoes, which are grooves cut into the wood with a router or a table saw with a dado blade, cross- wise (cut a dado on scrap and test-fit the shelves first!) and cut it into four narrower boards, two at 1-3/8 in. wide and two at 4 in.
This site uses affiliate links. Given this, please assume that any links leading you to products or services are affiliate links that we will receive compensation from. However, there are millions of products and services on the web, and I only promote those products or services that I would use personally. The Wood Whisperer abides by word of mouth marketing standards and holds integrity in the highest regard. Should I ever be compensated to write, I will make full disclosure. I always give honest opinions, findings, and experiences on products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely our own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question. All content on The Wood Whisperer is copyrighted, and may not be reprinted in full form without my written consent.

Clamp two opposing case sides edge-to-edge and mark each dado location with a pencil. Be sure and mark the location of the case tops far enough down on the case sides, so that the tops provide a joining surface for the valance. Next, clamp a straightedge guide across the two sides. Position the guide square with the plywood edge, install a 3/4-in. straight bit into the router and adjust it to cut 3/8 in. deep. Slowly push the router along the guide, crossing both plywood pieces. If you plan to use biscuits to attach the face pieces, cut the necessary slots with a biscuit joiner [ 2 ]. For the tall sides, space the slots about 12 to 14 in. apart. Cut three slots into shelves that are 18 in. long or less, and four into longer shelves. (I cut slots for No. 20-size biscuits.)

Once you’ve mastered the basics, then check out magazines like Fine Woodworking, Woodcraft, etc. Visit your local woodworking store (like Woodcraft or Rockler) and browse the book / plans section. What I like is these stores normally have people with woodworking expertise and can answer most of your questions whether they be basic or advanced. They also offer monthly workshops at an affordable price. Start by arranging all the parts on your work surface. Justin used a flux brush to spread the glue in the slots, and onto the biscuits after they were installed. Any small brush will work, though. When you have everything assembled, install clamps to hold the sides tight to the shelves while the glue dries. Check by using a framing square or by measuring diagonally from opposite corners to make sure the bookcase is square. Adjust it if needed. Then tighten the clamps. This is a good time to take a break while you let the glue dry for about an hour.
Before you put any tool to your lumber, you will need to understand its proper orientation and what direction to plane the board. As trees grow, growth ring layers continue to build on one another and this produces beautiful grain that shows in our boards. This grain can make planing it trickier if we ignore the ideal direction to work. Working wood grain is kind of like petting a cat — if you go from tail to head, you will find the hair standing straight up and might get a hissing disapproval, but if you pet “with the grain” from head to tail, you’ll find the hairs lay down nice and smooth and purring will ensue.

Woodworking knowledge is something we are all constantly in pursuit of. Thankfully, there are a LOT of options available to us. We no longer have to rely on taking expensive classes when so much information can be found online and in books. And as many Guild members know, even online classes can be quite effective thanks to the additional interactivity. In my situation, most of my learning is through podcasts, books, and blogs. I punctuate my learning each year by taking a class or two. And whenever possible, I do try to learn directly from other woodworkers in person. So if you’re like me, you probably want to select more than one thing in this list. Let’s just say you should pick the one that you get the MOST information from. And if you are thinking about podcasts, just select the Woodworking Blogs option, since most podcasts are presented on blogs.

Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials worked by early humans. Microwear analysis of the Mousterian stone tools used by the Neanderthals show that many were used to work wood. The development of civilization was closely tied to the development of increasingly greater degrees of skill in working these materials.Woodworking shop in Germany in 1568, the worker in front is using a bow saw, the one in the background is planing.Among early finds of wooden tools are the worked sticks from Kalambo Falls, Clacton-on-Sea and Lehringen. The spears from Schöningen (Germany) provide some of the first examples of wooden hunting gear. Flint tools were used for carving. Since Neolithic times, carved wooden vessels are known, for example, from the Linear Pottery culture wells at Kückhofen and Eythra.Examples of Bronze Age wood-carving include tree trunks worked into coffins from northern Germany and Denmark and wooden folding-chairs. The site of Fellbach-Schmieden in Germany has provided fine examples of wooden animal statues from the Iron Age Wooden idols from the La Tène period are known from a sanctuary at the source of the Seine in France.

This might be where the fist-to-cuffs start. Why a router table as my second choice? It’s so versatile. With the right fence set up, I can edge joint boards, like I could on a jointer. (No, you can’t face joint, but I’ll live with that for now.) I can make any number of joints, create doors, and profile edges. I can remove the router and use it hand-held for work at my bench. A good router table simply provides lots of bang for the buck.
The owners, webmasters, administrators, authors and editors, expressly disclaim all and any liability to any person, whether a user of this website or not, in respect of anything and of the consequences of anything done or omitted to be done by any such person in reliance, whether whole or partial, upon the whole or any part of the contents of this website. Please exercise caution when working with any tools or machinery. Follow common safety rules and precautions as outlined in any manuals related to the equipment being used. If advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
Choose a suitable area to do your woodwork crafting in. You'll need sufficient area to move about in, which includes considering the lengths of wood you'll be working with and the types of tools and even machinery you need to set up. As well as space for you to work within, there will also need to be sufficient space to store the wood, the tools and other related items so that they are easy to find and are kept inside, away from the elements.
Cut the 6-1/2-in. x 3-in. lid from the leftover board, and slice the remaining piece into 1/4-in.-thick pieces for the sides and end of the box. Glue them around the plywood floor. Cut a rabbet on three sides of the lid so it fits snugly on the box and drill a 5/8-in. hole for a finger pull. Then just add a finish and you’ve got a beautiful, useful gift. If you don’t have time to make a gift this year, consider offering to do something for the person. You could offer to sharpen their knives! Here’s how.

Even though I have many large power tools I am still a fan of hand tools, in particular, planes and chisels. In many applications I have found they are the fastest means to an end. Other factors in their favor are their cost. Good hands tools are not cheap, but compared to their motorized counterparts, they are usually much less costly. Another is space. Besides taking up far less space in the shop, they often require less space to use. Think of edge joining an 8 foot long plank. On a jointer you need a minimum of 16 feet of work space. With a hand plane, you move the tool, not the material, so you only need slightly more room than the length of the material.

Any bookcase you build should be anchored to the wall so it can’t tip over and injure someone. Simply screwing it to wall studs is one good solution. If you choose that method, load up the bookcase with books so it fully compresses the carpet before you drive the screws. If you want to be able to move the bookcase without removing screws, pick up a couple of chain latches. Fasten the chains to studs with 2-1/2-in. coarse-thread screws. Position the tracks so there will be just enough slack in the chains for you to detach them.
Maybe you have a tablesaw and a 13” thickness planer already, but most of us don’t. Be careful not to fall into the trap of feeling like you have to buy expensive machines to build things. When I work with wood, I use only hand tools and love every minute of it. If you learn how artisans worked their lumber before machines dominated the furniture industry, you will find woodworking by hand to be efficient and viable. There are many tried-and-true techniques to expedite the process that free us from feeling like we have to do machine-perfect work by hand. The real key is to use the right tool for the job: coarse tools for coarse work and fine tools for fine work. Still not convinced? Check out my good friend Jim’s story. I hope it inspires you.

The Nine-month Comprehensive is designed for aspiring professional furniture makers and dedicated amateurs who seek in-depth training at the highest standard of excellence. The hands-on, project-oriented format includes the full range of furniture making skills. Sequential projects take students from the fundamentals through the fine points of design and craftsmanship.

I am finally getting to practice my woodworking more after years of collecting tools. By using tool reviews and thinking of the kind of work I would like to do, I have accumulated a nice set of tools without purchasing many mistakes. I decided to use Paul Sellers book and videos and start learning from the beginning. He starts with projects that begin with a small set of tools. One of those tools is a spokeshave. Even though I know much of what is in the first lessons, I have picked up a few new tricks, and am learning to use my tools more efficiently. My most important tools are my workbench and vise. The workbench was tough to build as I was on the floor using hand planes; not a good way to work. I have no jointer; did get a small planer and made a sled for it so I can flatten a board. My tools are in my house, so there is no room for a big table saw or bandsaw. I have a chopsaw and a piece of an old Craftsman tablesaw I got for free. It has to be moved outside to use. A circular saw with a guide is handy. My guide has a plate on which the saw is mounted. The plate slides on aluminum angle (with help of rollers) which is screwed to plywood. Once the initial cut is made in the plywood, the plywood is simply lined up with your cut marks and clamped down. MATERIAL CONNECTION DISCLOSURE: You should assume that this website has an affiliate relationship and/or another material connection to the persons or businesses mentioned in or linked to from this page and may receive commissions from purchases you make on subsequent web sites. You should not rely solely on information contained in this email to evaluate the product or service being endorsed. Always exercise due diligence before purchasing any product or service. This website contains advertisements.
oh yeah, and buying a bunch of cap nuts is not so easy unless you order ahead of time. i went to two hardware stores (one family owned and one big box) and they kind of laughed at me when i said i needed 32. so i got regular nuts, tightened them so they were flush with the all thread on the front side, hammered it against the board and tightened the back side while holding the front one in place with a wrench. so, some of them have a little bit of overhang on the back side, but i don't have to worry about gouging skin while walking past it. for my next set, i'll order the cap nuts in bulk from ebay ahead of time...
I also had the brainstorm to use two nail-in furniture "feet" on the bottom of each 2x4 on the front side so as to compensate for the carpet tack strip on the back edge and to make the shelves lean ever so slightly into the wall. I thought we might have to anchor the top of it to the wall, but with the feet, it stands very firm with absolutely no signs of wanting to tip forward! I felt great satisfaction when the almost 150 square inches of friction applied allowed for NO racking -- I could practically climb the end without anything budging!
Thickness planer. A thickness planer is used to fix surfaces of imperfect wood. If you are picking up less than perfect wood from the lumberyard, wood with some surface defects, a planer will let you fix that wood in the quickest time. A thickness planer pays for itself quick as it allows you to buy cheaper wood that doesn’t have perfect surfaces and fix it yourself. Be careful though. You loose wood during planing. So the remaining amount of wood still has to be worth the price you paid for it.
It wasn't until the end of the eighteenth century when the first woodworking machine was patented. Some of the basic principles of the earliest woodworking machine tools are still in use today, but the new machines are faster, more powerful, and easier to use than previous generations. We carry a full range of stationary woodworking machines including table saws, miter saws, band saws, drill presses, mortisers, shapers, planers and more. If you have any questions or need help finding what you need, give us a call or email and we'll assist you in finding the right woodworking machine.